Chapter 152: The Battle Begins
With the referee’s command, I quickly reacted, and so did Tan Han.
The enhancement effect of the Witch Hat made my Mental Power more solid, and my reaction became faster.
The body-enhancement spell activated on my wrist rapidly increased my overall capabilities, making me feel lighter all over.
Just as my attention was focused on Tan Han, I subconsciously activated a Protection Spell.
However, Tan Han’s initial move was just to cast a shield on herself.
But from the perspective of Spirit Vision, I saw my opponent activating several spellbooks in that moment!
The technique of multiple spellcasting tests not only the control of Mental Power but also the terrifying ability to multitask.
However, such rapid spellcasting would require either a modified spellbook or the spells being cast to be small spells that do not require a ceremony.
Spells that don’t need to be ceremonially activated rely solely on extraordinary laws to operate, allowing for quick casting by skipping the complex ritual; the trade-off is their power and effect.
But up to now, I hadn’t seen what these spells’ effects were.
There were no offensive spells among them; could they be similar to body enhancement spells?
It didn’t seem like it…
As I was curious about Tan Han’s next move, the energy of the wand in her hand surged, and a blazing beam shot towards me without warning.
At this moment, the live broadcast from Arena 1 began, and the commentator started her work.
Commentating is no easy job; it requires excellent speaking skills, quick on-the-spot reactions, and a rich vocabulary of spell names.
Otherwise, how embarrassing would it be for the contestants if the commentator couldn’t even name the various spells they cast?
“Alright, the battle in Arena 1 has begun!”
“We can see that Contestant 14 instantly activated the Mental Power enhancement effect of the Witch Hat, and the wrist guard she wears is also an Alchemical Item.”
“Now let’s see… Oh! What a beautiful sneak attack!”
“She dodged! Contestant 14 actually dodged! We can see the ripples of the Protection Spell on her; such a quick reaction suggests that the enhancement spell on that wrist guard has indeed made her agile.”
“Contestant 1’s sneak attack was quite unexpected; who would have thought that there was a charging beam on her wand? However, solidifying spells takes significant toll on the wand’s performance.”
“Still, an unexpected charging beam sneak attack is indeed impressive, but it failed on the first try; it seems that this tactic will become a burden on the wand later.”
“Let’s check the Earth Vein information; forgive my eyes, some spells cannot be seen with the n*ked eye, but the Earth Vein information will accurately record everything happening~”
The commentator quickly and cheerfully explained the situation to the viewers, even utilizing the Earth Vein Operating System.
The Earth Vein inherently carries information, which, when decoded and applied, allows one to grasp many ongoing events in real time, including spell releases.
“We can see Contestant 1… wow~ Look at that, quick casting, spell enhancement, elemental affinity, focused attention, strength enhancement, vision enhancement; this string of spell enhancement effects is practically free for herself.”
“But that’s not the main point! Contestant 1 has actually mastered multiple spellcasting!”
“Now let’s take a look at Contestant 14’s… um, Energy Shield, seems to be just one spell.”
“It appears that Contestant 14 doesn’t have as many tactics as Contestant 1; the body enhancement spell isn’t listed in the spellbook, so it must be due to the effect of the Alchemical Item. Let’s take another look…”
At that moment, I narrowly avoided the beam’s attack in the arena.
If I hadn’t reacted quickly enough, that speed sneak attack could have seriously injured me in an instant.
Fortunately, I had previously cast body enhancement and an Energy Shield on myself; even passing by my body, that blazing beam caused ripples in the Energy Shield, indicating its power.
This sneak attack reminded me of American iaijutsu; spell confrontation, and then suddenly a sneak attack—if Tan Han switched her wand for a firearm, it would be even more fitting.
However, sometimes the sneak attack capability of Alchemical Items could be even more terrifying than that of firearms.
Spells are no exception; even the speed of a Fireball Spell fired could surpass what the n*ked eye could perceive.
“I dodged it; it seems my aim still needs practice.”
Tan Han didn’t have high hopes for this sneak attack; instead, she continued to complete the last few spell enhancements.
Naturally, I didn’t waste time in this interval and quickly shot out a Fireball Spell, and it moved quickly.
But Tan Han didn’t brace herself with a shield; given the distance, she had enough time to dodge with her movement technique.
The speed of the Fireball couldn’t compare to that of the beam.
In this simple round of spell exploration and tug of war, the distance between Tan Han and me was closing; due to the insufficient distance, the spell exchange was merely a drain of magic power.
Tan Han could naturally choose to counter, given her absolute advantage in Magic Sources, but her powerful spellbook also had significant consumption; if she used strong spells, she wouldn’t be able to cast many times.
So, closing the distance would be her next step, but not right now; one must take advantage of their edge.
Her spellbook had many spells, covering various aspects, such as summoning spells.
The Giant Rockman Summoning Spell has no equal in close combat.
As her spellbook activated, I also took the initiative to close the distance to Tan Han, but that also gave her the chance to cast spells first.
From that distance, I naturally couldn’t interrupt her spell; I didn’t know what its effect would be.
From the ritual structure of the spell, I seemed to see something resembling the Spirit Cat Summoning Spell; I quickly realized this was likely some sort of summoning spell.
Just as I figured it out, a gigantic rockman three meters tall appeared before Tan Han, blocking my path forward. It seems I need to increase the speed of my judgments in the future.
The massive rockman, with a body composed of boulders, made creaking sounds with every movement. If it hit me, wouldn’t that seriously injure me right from the start?
I promptly threw a reinforced Fireball Spell to test it; the Fireball Spell accurately hit that bulky creature, and its terrifying explosion instantly took off one of its limbs. It seemed its defense was merely at the level of ordinary rock, but injuries and reassembly were somewhat troublesome—could it even reassemble? Even if the process was quite slow.
I quickly followed up with another Fireball to destroy its lower limb, leaving it as an immovable stone obstacle for me.
That was enough to buy me some time.
Meanwhile, the commentator was passionately analyzing the battle conditions for the audience.
“It’s obvious that Contestant 1 intends to rely on her massive magic power reserves for long-distance attrition, but it seems that the Giant Rockman Summoning Spell used to stall Contestant 14 hasn’t worked.”
“Now it has become an immobile stone block.”
“Contestant 14’s performance is quite remarkable. Two Fireball Spells solved the situation, swapping two points of consumption for the opponent’s dozens of magic power consumption from the summoning is quite worthwhile.”
“However, the casting time of this Fireball Spell is a bit suspicious; the power is too great.”
“It’s strange, the Earth Vein information on Contestant 14 doesn’t show statuses like quick casting or spell enhancements, and there’s nothing in the Alchemical Item section either.”
“It seems this Fireball Spell spellbook is a rare modified spellbook!”
The commentator kept flipping through the Earth Vein information; although this was a new student competition, she felt it was challenging her knowledge reserves. Contestant 1’s many spells could be excused, but Contestant 14 actually had a modified spellbook; if she hadn’t known this concept, she might have made a fool of herself while commentating.
“So how will Contestant 1 respond? If she doesn’t attempt to intercept, the attrition battle might turn into a close-range spell exchange, which would not favor either party. Even with body enhancement, one might not be able to react in time.”
“However, Contestant 1 didn’t give up on intercepting; Cold Crow Summoning, Mud Pit Spell, dual intercepts on ground and air; let’s see how Contestant 14 responds.”
“The speed of the Cold Crows is quite swift; although their attack isn’t high, they still bring a considerable amount of trouble to Contestant 14.”
“The corrosion mud pit created on the ground is still spreading, looking to trap Contestant 14; this situation is quite unfavorable.”
“Wait! What happened to the Cold Crows? That shadow that flashed by just now—what did Contestant 14 throw that took down the Cold Crow so efficiently?”
“Hold on… let’s check the Earth Vein information; it’s the Spirit Cat Summoning Spell! I didn’t expect Contestant 14 to also have a summoning spell, and it was used so simply yet effectively!”
“Unfortunately, what can you do? The Cold Crow is on the cat’s menu; let’s pay a moment of silence for it.”
“Alright, let’s return our focus to the contestant; how will Contestant 14 deal with this predicament? Contestant 1 isn’t leaving any opportunity to breathe!”
In the arena.
The battleground constructed by spells was being eroded by the corrosive mud pit. Although the crow I threw was accurately taken down by the Spirit Cat, it was clear that Tan Han wasn’t giving me any chance to breathe.
Her spellbook has a lot of spells, and even the summoned combat spells now exhibited several variations.
Now, she summoned a swarm of venomous bees; although they’re called venomous, each one is about the size of a fist, and there are many of them. It’s hard to imagine the size of the welts I would get if I get hit by one.
Additionally, these venomous bees move incredibly fast, quickly blocking all angles.
But I felt very excited by this; the more I faced such dilemmas, the more I could stimulate myself to understand how to use spells.
Back in the lab, constantly experimenting with various modified spells, aside from the few clear directives put forward by Teacher Ji initially, the subsequent modifications left me floundering without direction.
I could only try various things, resulting in many laughable effects.
However, when encountering difficulties, I would think of ways to counter, which also provided me with new ideas.
How should I use the Fireball Spell against so many targets?
Isn’t that simple?
It’s just a matter of precision strikes or firepower coverage. My magic power can’t compare to Tan Han’s, so I had no choice.
Rich means comprehensive fire coverage; poor means precision strikes.
Venomous bees, their body structure dictates that their defense isn’t high; they win by numbers, so the power of the Fireball Spell doesn’t need to be particularly high; as long as there are enough of them, that’s sufficient.
Of course, spell modifications aren’t just haphazard; there must be a prototype for modification. Having experimented with so many effects of the Fireball Spell, there are naturally many options that can deal with the current situation.
There were so many that at the moment, I didn’t know which one to choose.
But I still had to choose one; for example… I named the modified spell “Mayfly Fireball.” Since I could name it, it indicated that the modification effect was memorable.
